WISCONSIN — Last week, summer research and development interns presented their work on fungi, fire and sustainable alternatives for common lab materials at the Forest Products Laboratory. Both, Forest Products Laboratory and Northern Research Station host students during the summer months who help advance scientific research while exploring early career opportunities within the Forest Service.

Keeley Brooks, a senior at Yale University, discussed Schlieren Imaging, a technique used in the Forest Products Laboratory Fire Lab that allows scientists to view changes in temperature and density caused by changes to the surrounding medium by combustion. Brooks, a music major, also presented her progress composing an orchestral piece based on a prescribed burn in the New Jersey pine barrens.

Naamon Peyton, a senior microbiology major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, worked with scientists in the NRS Center for Mycology Forest Research to sequence the genome of the understudied crust fungus Dendrothele nivosa. Through this project, Peyton was able to develop his coding skills while helping place the fungus within its evolutionary tree.

Cecelia Stokes, a PhD candidate at University of Wisconsin- Madison, also worked with the NRS Center for Mycology Forest Research, studying the role toxins play in the spread of the invasive death cap mushroom. Her fieldwork on this organism has taken her from the mushroom’s native range in Europe to the warm outdoors of California to study its invasive populations.

A senior in Agricultural Engineering at the University of Illinois, Nora Schnulle experimented with neutron imaging as a method to capture the distinct zones of burned wood (char, pyrolysis and virgin wood). Her project has potential for expansion to use other types of imaging to define burn zones in wood. This fall, she will continue working remotely with the Forest Products Laboratory part-time.

Nehavey Northern, a first-year student at the University of Wisconsin- Madison, explored more environmentally sustainable alternatives to agar, a common gelling agent used to grow microorganisms. Over just a few weeks she experimented with wood decay fungi growth on alternative media and described several possibilities for future studies.  

Summer interns and early career professionals are able to explore research projects within their field and are a valuable asset to the Forest Service. The Forest Products Laboratory and Northern Research Station look forward to hosting more students in the future.